"It appears that we will have to continue our discussion another time, Father," Dare said, bowing to his sire. "Do yourself a favor, and muzzle your feral dog before he angers the wrong gent. Or better still, castrate him so he does not go out and humiliate the family again. At this rate, the duchess will be spending the rest of her days in bed."

"Bastard!"

Dare smirked. "No, that is what they call the sons you have managed to produce with every silly maid and whore in England."

Charles roared and threw himself at Dare. They crashed into several chairs, toppling them over as the brothers struggled for the upper hand.

It was just typical day at the Mordare residence.

"Sin, you cannot be serious," Juliana said, her worried gaze switching from her husband to Regan.

When she saw that she could not sway Regan or Sin, she appealed to Reign. Vane and Hunter had arrived minutes earlier, but the marchioness was intelligent enough not waste her breath on them. After all, it was Hunter who had suggested that protective clothing. "Reign, talk some sense into them."

"Regan can wield a foil," Reign said as he positioned the wire mesh mask over her face. "Who do you think taught her?" He glanced pointedly at the marquess.

Juliana gaped in amazement at her husband. "Sin!"

Sin shrugged, giving his wife a sheepish look. "It seemed sensible at the time."

Reign tapped on her mask. "Though I'll wager that you haven't been practicing."

Regan sneered at the earl. "Ha! You would lose that bet." She peered at her cousin through the mask. "Thea, tell Reign about the parasols."

Sin laughed as he secured the canvas bib at her throat. "Tell me that you did not-?"

"Oh, she did," Thea assured him, which caused everyone to laugh.

Regan did not mind. The bit of mischief had been an attempt to provoke Miss Swann into dismissing her from the school. She often wondered if Frost had bribed the woman with a small fortune to compensate for Regan's disobedience.

Nina wiped the tears from her eyes. "Miss Swann could not understand how a dozen parasols were damaged in a single day."

"I thought she would break one over Regan's backside for sure when she figured out who was responsible," Thea added.

Hunter's brow furrowed. "Were you ever mistreated?"

Regan appreciated his concern. "No. Miss Swann tried to hide it, but I think she came to admire my daring."

"I doubt anyone could remain mad at you for long." Vane handed her the foil. The small bell guard fit into her hand as if it had been fashioned for her. "We certainly couldn't."

Sophia leaned heavily against her walking stick. "Sin, you will remember that she is hampered by her skirt, will you not?"

Regan grimaced behind her mask as Sin assured the worried countess that they were merely playing. Irritated by the marquess's assurances, she lunged and would have hit her target if Sin had not twisted his body to avoid contact.

Hunter, Vane, and Reign cheered her aggressive attack. Her skirt and petticoat were indeed a hindrance, so Regan pulled the hem of her dress high enough to reveal her drawers. Although her legs were covered, she was certain her friends were speechless. Thea and Nina did not understand that the Lords of Vice, and now Juliana and Sophia, were family. Besides, the gents had seen more of her during the occasions she had gone swimming with them.

Regan danced backward to avoid Sin's foil. The thirty-six-inch blade was light, but the effort it took to counter her opponent's attacks was tiring. It galled her that Sin was being lenient, and the knowledge spurred her to be relentless.

She was the first to score a point.

Everyone applauded, including Juliana and Sophia.

"You are weakening," Sin taunted, raising his foil to salute her.

She returned his salute. "And you, my friend, smell worse than the docks" was her cool retort.

Vane, in particular, found her insult amusing.

Moving forward and backward along the narrow strip Sin and Reign had defined with stones, Regan was breathing heavily when Sin's buttoned foil struck the middle of her bodice.

"Enough?"

Regan was pleased that Sin was panting, too. Once more to determine the victor.

"Agreed."

They began anew. Blinking away the perspiration that was stinging her eyes, Regan cursed the mask that they had insisted she wear. She clenched her teeth in frustration as Sin struck her blade downward with enough force that the blow rippled up her arm.

She was not strong enough to resist Sin's earnest attacks. When their blades crossed, the marquess pressed. He assumed that he had the upper hand so he was unprepared when she used a small circular motion to disengage. She took advantage of his surprise and aimed for his flank.

"What the devil are you doing?"

Momentarily distracted by Dare's appearance, she turned and Sin's blade struck her on the arm. Though her long sleeves offered a certain amount of protection, the fabric could not spare her from the pain. Regan covered the injury with her hand as her foil tumbled onto the grass.

Somehow Dare was the first to reach her.

"You have the common sense of a flea!" Dare growled at Sin. He removed her wire mesh mask and pulled the strings that tethered the canvas bib to her neck. To Regan, he asked, "How badly hurt are you?"

Sin extended his hand in a helpless gesture. "My apologies, Regan. I had not expected you to suddenly turn-"

"It was an accident," Regan said, feeling rattled and smothered by all the attention. Everyone had crowded around her and was talking at once. "I was careless."

"I could not agree more," Dare said harshly. With his arm protectively around Regan, he glared at his friends. "Whose asinine notion was it to have Regan fence with Sin?" He pointed at Vane. "This sounds like something you would suggest."

Vane had not quite forgiven Dare for tossing him against the wall for kissing Regan. "Oh, really? And how did you deduce that I was the guilty one, Dare?"

Regan heard Reign quietly order his wife and the other women to return to the drawing room. Dare and Vane were going to come to blows if they continued to pound their chests. She grabbed Dare's wrist to get his attention.

"It is not Vane's fault, or anyone else's for that matter." She sagged wearily against his chest. "I was the one who suggested the bout."

Hunter crouched down and retrieved Regan's foil from the grass. "A reasonable request," the duke spoke in her defense. "I recall numerous occasions when Regan honed her fencing skills with Sin."

Dare ignored Hunter. "You?"

Regan tipped her chin up so she could glare at Dare. "Yes, it was my asinine notion, and I might have won if you had not distracted me."

"Me?" His mouth thinned at the realization that he had been responsible for her being hurt.

"She almost had me, Dare," Sin conceded. "As she said, it was just an accident."

Regan nodded. "Besides, it is nothing more than a scratch," she said, praying that she spoke the truth. She peeled away her fingers so she could inspect her injury. "See? It barely cut into the meat."

Dare held her a little tighter. "Christ!"

Hunter squinted at her bloody sleeve. "I will summon the surgeon."

"Yes."

"No," Regan said, countering Dare's assent. "While I appreciate the gesture, none of you would fuss over such a insignificant scratch. It just needs to be cleaned and bound. I doubt it will even leave a scar when it heals."

Dare's body was literally vibrating with bridled fury. Regan was not even aware that she was holding her breath until he announced to everyone, "I will take care of her."

Hunter, Sin, Reign, and Vane all froze and stared at their friend.

Even to Regan, Dare's words sounded terribly like a promise.

Chapter Twenty.

Rolling onto his side, Dare pulled the sheet around his waist. Alone in his bed, he conceded that there had been worse days in his life. He thought of the years of beatings Charles had given him when he was a boy. For days, he had hobbled about like a man with the weight of eighty years on his bowed shoulders as he waited for his young body to heal.

Allegra's face also surfaced in the darkness of his bedchamber. He could still recall how she looked at sixteen, achingly beautiful and tragic, as her father, Lord Dyton, dragged her into the front hall of Rooks House, the Duke of Rhode's county seat.

As Allegra sobbed at her father's feet, Lord Dyton had demanded to know which of the Duke of Rhode's sons had impregnated his daughter. Charles immediately accused Dare of the dastardly deed. It was then that he learned that Allegra had given herself to Charles, Dare's rival and lifelong tormenter. Instead of denying the accusation, Dare had foolishly offered to marry Allegra.

His generosity was Allegra's undoing. Inconsolable and almost unintelligible from her broken sobs, she pointed a trembling finger at Charles and claimed that he was the sire of her babe.

Dyton was suspicious, but he was a pragmatic man. Better that his daughter marry the heir of the dukedom than the second son. While his brother howled in outrage at Allegra's duplicity, Dare had stared at the young woman he had loved and saw the ambition in her heart.

Since that awful day, he could tally a thousand more unpleasant days to his life, but nothing compared to standing there helplessly as Sin's blade struck Regan's arm. Dare had wanted to pick up Regan's foil from the grass, snap off the buttoned tip, and stab one of his dearest friends' heart for hurting her.

Christ, I am going mad.

"Dare?"

Hearing Regan's voice only confirmed his suspicions. Dare's eyes snapped open, and he peered at the open doors that led to a small balcony. Unless she had sprouted wings, there was no possible way Regan could be standing on the balcony.

Dare sat up in his bed when Regan stealthily entered the room. "Are you awake?"

"How the devil did you manage this latest mischief?" he demanded, noting that she wore only a flimsy nightgown. The white linen gleamed and fluttered like a flag as she approached the bed.

"I have not done it in a few years, but I climbed up on the railing and jumped to the other balcony."

"You did what?"

"Hush. I am not certain if Frost has returned."

"You must not have been too concerned. May I remind you that your brother's balcony separates us?"

"I knew of no other way to reach yours."

Dare groaned and fell back against his pillows. "A sensible chit would have used the door!"

"Calm down," she whispered. "I heard strange noises and thought Frost had returned. Knocking on your door would have been too brazen, even for me."

His heart twisted in his chest as she grinned down at him.

"Regan ... Regan, you will be the death of me if you persist." Dare took her hand and pulled her closer until her thighs bumped against the mattress. "What was so important that you risked your foolish neck on this nocturnal adventure?"

"I came to see you," she said simply.

Regan leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. Dare wondered if she was aware that he was naked under the sheet and hard as marble. His cock was poking up like a foot soldier's pike.

She straightened and Dare almost whimpered at the loss of her mouth against his. Wordlessly, Regan reached down and grabbed the bottom of her nightgown.

"Regan," he said helplessly. How was he supposed to resist her?

She pulled the garment over her head and let it drop to the floor.

Without asking, she lifted the sheet that covered him from the waist down. Dare did not stop her. He was curious to see how far Regan would go with her exploration.

His cock jutted from the hair that covered his genitals. Dare moaned as her fingers circled its blunt head. There was no way he could conceal his desire for her.

"I wish I could light a lamp," she murmured almost to herself. "You seem so much larger than the paintings and sculptures that I have admired."

He lightly pinched her nipple. "Are you teasing me, you shameful minx?" Dare raised his hips off the mattress when her hand slid down the shaft of his cock and squeezed. "Or trying to stop my heart?"

"The night we were in the library, everything happened so fast."

Instantly contrite, he felt like a callow youth for his haste. "I know. I rushed things. You deserve better than a quick tupping on the rug."

There had been a fever in his blood that night. A madness that could not be sated with a mere kiss.

"Oh, I was not complaining."

Dare noticed that she had removed the narrow linen bandage he had secured to her upper arm after he had cleaned her bloodied furrow with some of Sin's brandy.

"You should have left the bandage on."

"Do not scold," she said, climbing onto the bed. "My arm is fine, and Frost might have noticed."